With the rapidly accelerating growth of Internet and intranet communication, high-bandwidth applications (such as streaming video), and large information databases, the need for networked storage systems has increased dramatically. Of particular concern is the performance level of networked storage, especially in high-utilization and high-bandwidth use models. A key determinant in the performance of a networked storage system is the function of mapping data to storage elements.
Conventional network storage system architectures rely heavily on software implementation of mapping techniques. Unfortunately, software-mapping approaches significantly limit system flexibility and performance. Hardware-mapping approaches have been developed to address these performance limitations. Such a system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,195,730, entitled, “Computer System With Storage Device Mapping Input/Output Processor,” which is hereby incorporated by reference. However, conventional hardware-mapping implementations such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,195,730, do not allow for the level of complex mapping functions that can fully maximize networked storage system performance and resource utilization.